School transportation questions that show which routes need work
Ask parents and guardians how the trip to school goes, from the bus stop to the school gate. Each question below comes with when to ask it and what the answer tells you.
What school transportation survey questions tell you
School transportation survey questions ask parents how their child gets to school and how the trip goes: how long it takes, whether the bus is on time, how crowded and safe it feels and what it costs. The answers show which routes and stops need attention, which is hard to see from the school office.
Ask three or four weeks into the school year, once routes have settled, and again after a schedule or route change. Send the link by email or in the school's own app, and pick five to seven questions. Ask how the child travels first, and use logic so families who walk or drive skip the bus questions.
Each written answer is read as it arrives and given a category, a sentiment and an urgency, so a worry about a dangerous crossing reaches the right person before a wish for a closer stop. Give each response an owner in the inbox, and pass route problems to the bus company with the stop names parents wrote.
- Questions
- 14
- Best asked
- Three or four weeks into the school year
- Industry
- Education
- Where to find them
- From library in the Usertick survey editor, on every plan
The 14 getting to school questions, with when to ask each
Grouped by what they tell you. Use them as they are or change the wording.
How the child travels
The way the child travels, the time and the cost, which frame every other answer. Ask the travel question first, so logic can skip the bus questions.
- 01Dropdown
How does your child usually travel to school?
How the child usually travels, from the school bus to a bike. Put it first, and add logic so families who walk, bike or drive skip the bus questions.
- 02Ruler
How long does the trip to school take door to door?
The door-to-door trip in minutes, on a ruler. Results shows the median and the middle half; select School bus on the first question to compare bus riders with everyone else.
- 09Date
What time does your child leave home?
Collects when the child leaves home, but the answer type is a date, so Results shows a calendar. Change the answer type to a number or to multiple choice with time slots to get the departure time.
- 11Number
How much does school transport cost you each month?
Monthly cost of school transport. Results shows the median and the middle half; compare it across the ways children travel with the first question.
The bus service
Timekeeping, the driver, crowding and tracking, for families whose child takes the school bus.
- 03Yes / No
Does the school bus arrive on time?
Whether the bus arrives on time. Results shows the share that said yes; read the No answers with the route question to find which stops run late.
- 04Stars
How would you rate the bus driver?
A star rating for the bus driver. Results shows the average and a bar per rating; run one survey per route, or tag the link with the route, so each driver gets a fair score.
- 06Multiple choice
How crowded is the bus in the morning?
Three options on morning crowding. A large share on Too crowded for one route is a reason to ask the bus company for a second bus.
- 10Yes / No
Can you track the bus on your phone?
Whether parents can track the bus on their phone. Read it with the request for live tracking: a low share of yes and many requests make the case for it.
- 13Matrix
Rate the bus service on each
Rates timekeeping, safety, comfort and the driver in one grid. The heat map shows which row pulls the bus service down, and row averages let you compare routes and terms.
Safety and worries
How safe the trip feels and what worries parents most, read together before you talk to the bus company or the city.
- 05Big scale
How safe does the trip to school feel?
How safe the trip feels, from 1 to 10. Results shows the average and a column per step; select the low end to read what those parents wrote about their worries.
- 12Emoji
How does the morning trip usually go?
How the morning trip usually goes, on a row of faces. It works as a quick question to run on its own after a route change.
- 14Text
What worries you most about the trip to school?
Asks what worries the parent most about the trip. Each answer gets a sentiment and an urgency, so a safety concern at a crossing can get an owner the same day.
Routes and improvements
What would make the trip better and which stop or route needs attention, the list to bring to the next route review.
- 07Multiple choice
What would make the trip better?
Picks every change that would make the trip better, from an earlier pickup to live tracking. Keep Nothing, so families who are happy aren't pushed into a wish.
- 08Text
Which stop or route needs attention?
Asks which stop or route needs attention. The answers name streets and stops, which you can pass on to the bus company or the city as they are.
Tips for asking about getting to school
Small choices that get honest, useful answers.
- 01
Ask how the child travels first
Start with the travel question, and use logic so families who walk or drive skip the bus questions.
- 02
Tag each route
Send a link per route, or tag the link with the route name. The tag stays with each answer, so you can compare routes in Google Sheets or through the API.
- 03
Ask again after routes change
Run a short version, the faces and the timekeeping question, two weeks after a schedule or route change.
- 04
Act on safety first
Give every answer that mentions a crossing, a stop or a driver an owner in the inbox before you look at comfort and cost.
Add these questions to a survey
From the library to the first answers.
- 1
Open the library
In the Usertick survey editor, choose From library, filter by industry and topic, and add several questions at once.
- 2
Or paste your own list
Paste questions reads up to 10 questions from any text on Free, 100 on Starter and 200 on Pro and above, keeps your wording and picks an answer type for each.
- 3
Choose where it runs
Show the survey on your website, send it by email, share its link and QR code, or switch it to a conversation.
- 4
Read the answers
Results counts every score and choice, and Usertick reads each written answer and files it by topic, on every plan.
Templates and more questions about getting to school
Full surveys that ask about the same things, and neighboring topics in the library.
Templates
Browse all templatesFrequently asked questions
Three or four weeks into the school year, once routes have settled, and again after a route or schedule change.
Yes. Send one link per route, or add a tag with the route name; the tag is kept with each answer for workflows, Google Sheets and the API.
Five to seven. Start with how the child travels, add timekeeping and safety, and end with the stop or route that needs attention.
Yes. Usertick sends the email survey to a contact list, so build one with bus families only. Or send it to everyone and let logic skip the bus questions for the rest.
Yes. The question library comes with every plan, the free plan included, and the free plan covers 150 responses a month across your surveys.
Yes. Once a question is in your survey, reword it, change its options or its answer type, and add logic to skip it for some answers.
Yes. The library is translated into Usertick's built-in languages, and in any other language it shows in English for you to translate.
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